John allcock jones



' J. A. JONES. Manufacture oflron and Steel.

No. 225,932 Patented Mar; 30,1880.

UNITED TATES ATENT Fries.

JOHN ALLUOGK JONES, OF MIDDLESBROUGH, GREAT BRITAIN.

MANUFACTURE OF lRON AND STEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,932, dated March30, 1880.

Application filed September 12, 1878. Patented in l lngland, October 12.1876.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN ALLoooK JONES, of Middlesbrough, in the countyof York, Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, have invented new anduseful lmprovementsin the Manufacture of Iron and Steel, of which thefollowing is a specification.

In the refining of iron and steel by mcansof a blast of air, alone or inconnection with chemicals or substances rich in oxygen, it has beencustomary heretofore to iransfer or run the metal thus treated into aseparate vessel for puddling the same mechanically or otherwise.

In order, however, to purify iron by air-blast, and also to form a ballthereof in the same vessel, it has been proposed to employ a oylindricalvessel which rests in a horizontal position, and to simultaneouslyagitate and blow air through the metal therein, the agitation beingeffected by rocking the vessel through suitable mechanism; but thisinvolves difficulties which my invention avoids. I force air through themetal and puddle it in the same vessel at different times. I performtheblowing while maintaining the vessel in an up right position, and thepuddling when said vessel is turned upon its side. Both operations maythus be performed in the same vessel without interterin g one with theother, under the conditions heretofore found most cilicient in carryingout the treatments in separate vessels.

Molten metal is introduced into a suitablylined operating vesselproperly heated. A. blast is introduced into and through the moltenmetal while the vessel is in a vertical or nearly vertical position.When the ingredients to be eliminated have been removed the vessel istilted to ahorizontal position and revolved to complete the process; orthe above process may be reversed. The rotating part may come first, andafter a portion of the ingredients are removed it may be brought into avertical position and blown, and their retated horizontally again toshape it into aball or run it out as refined iron.

The apparatus that effects these objects may be much varied. I have usedseveral forms. One that I have found successful is represented in theaccompanying drawings, in. which--.

Figure 1. is a section through the apparatus while upright, and Fig. 3 aview of the same when turned down to act as a puddler.

A is the vessel in which the iron is refined and puddled. The framing S,carrying this vessel, is mounted, by means of trunnions B B, instandards 0 O, and is actuated so as to cause the vessel to assume avertical position or a horizontal position, as required, by means of aworm, Q, carried by the standard 0 and gearing into a worm-wheel, It,keyed on the trunnion P.

Air is admitted to the interior of the vessel A through a pipe, a,passing through the trulr nion B and titted with union-joints a and I),for conducting the air to the tuyere brick or perforations c in the endor bottom G of the vessel.

When the vessel is in a horizontal or approximately horizontal positionitis caused to revolve by means of a bevel-pinion, T, keyed onto theinner end of a horizontal shaft, U, and gearing with a bevel-wheel, V,keyed onto the body of the vessel A. The shaft U passes through thetrunnion B, and is actuated from any suitable prime mover by means of adriving-belt or by gearing, as found most convenient.

In carrying out the process of refining and puddlin g with thisapparatus the chamber or vessel A is first lined with a mixture of oxideof iron, oxide of manganese, nitrate of soda, or other suitablesubstance orsubstances containing oxygen, or with oxide of iron alone,and is then heated by any convenient means, and air is admitted, whenthe vessel is in either a horizontal or vertical position, through thepipe a, union-joints a and b, and through the tuyere brick orperforations in the end or bottom G of the vessel; after which thevessel (either remaining in or being brought into a horizontal position,as the case may be) is charged with molten metal, (supplied thereto froma blast-furnace, cupola, air, or other fin nace.) The molten metalihaving been introduced, the vessel is brought into a vertical position,and is then blown by continuing to force air through the tuyere brick orperforations in the end or bottom G of the vessel, whereby some of themetal ingredients-such, for example, as carbon and silicon whieh it is:i l, i

desired to eliminate, or portions of the same, are removed, thetemperature being at the same time increased.

The vessel may be rotated first and blown afterward, and then rotatedagain.

If additional heat is required, oil or gas may be injected with theblast through the tuyere brick or perforations. After the ingredientswhich it is required to eliminate have been removed the vessel A istilted into a horizontal position, so as to bear upon the rollers F. Thevessel is then caused to revolve, whereby the metal is agitated andmixed among the cinder contained in the vessel (part of which cinder isobtained from the lining) until the metal mixed with the cinder isformed into a ball in readiness to be hammered or squeezed into anydesired shape. At this latter stage of the process, if further heat isnecessary, carbureted gas or oil may, in combination with air, beinjected through the tuyeres.

To produce steel by my combined blowing and rotative process 1 proceedas follows: The apparatus being in a vertical position, air uu dcrpressure is blown through the metal and a portion of the carbon andsilicon removed. The vessel is then rotated in a horizontal position andthe phosphorus or a part of it removed. The metal is now rehabilitatedwith carbon and silicon by adding to it iron or other metal speciallycharged with carbon and silicon, and the metal is again blown intosteel.

The above process may be reversed-tha-t is, the rotative part may comelirst and the phosphorus and silicon, or a part of them, be removed,after which the carbon and silicon may be added, and the materialafterward blown and converted into steel. The object is by this processto utilize such metal or iron holding phosphorus as cannot be used byand 1s unfit for the ordinary Bessemer process. The rotative processwill remove both silicon and phosphorus.

' I would have it understood that I do not claim separately the processof conversion by blowing, or the process of puddling in a revolvingvessel; and it will be manifest that the essential feature of myinvention does not consist of a mere form of machinery, and that theremay be many variations of the same, still using my new method orprocess.

I claim as an improvement in the production of refined iron and steellfilhe within-described mode of purifying and puddling iron and steel bymelting'it and alternately blowing air through it,and mechanicallyagitating or puddling it, the two operations being performed atdifferent times in the same vessel, substantially as herein specified.

2. The process of manufacturing wrought iron and steel herein described,which consists in subjecting the molten metal in a suitable vessel to ablast of air from below, said vessel being maintained in an uprightposition, and then subjecting it to a mechanical agitation by revolvingthe containing-vessel to puddle the metal while the vessel is in ahorizontal position, as and for the purposes herein specified.

JOHN ALLOOOK JONES.

\Vitnesses:

ALBERT TI. SANDERSON, .llfiddlcsbrough.

Jornv THoMAs, Jr.,

ilftlldlesbrongh.

